Significant improvements in cat litter now allow for clumping when the litter comes in contact with moisture, as found in cat urine and waste. The litter thus has an indicating feature and cat owners know that, when the cat litter is filled with clumps, it is time to change the litter or remove the waste material from the litter box. These refuse clumps are removed by lifting them out and disposing of them.
Despite advancements in cat litter, current techniques for removing the waste and urine clumps from the uncontaminated litter have proven difficult, inconvenient and/or ineffective. The present invention improves the separation process by providing a handheld scooping device that can have a sifting feature to separate used/contaminated cat litter from the unused/uncontaminated cat litter.
In addition to the contamination problem, prior art devices can be difficult and/or inconvenient to use. The present invention eliminates such difficulties and provides an easy and convenient way of disposing of the used/contaminated cat litter while keeping and reusing the unused/uncontaminated cat litter. Furthermore, the present invention lowers the cost associated with pet litter; removing and separating the contaminated litter from the uncontaminated litter reduces waste and increases the lifetime of the existing litter.
In view of the prior art, there remains a need for a scooping device that can provide an easy and convenient means of removing used/contaminated cat litter.